Jim Thorpe Borough Council approved a five-year garbage contract Thursday night with Tamaqua Transfer totaling $4.61 million, more than double what it paid for its current deal, which runs out at the end of January.

The pact will take the garbage portion of an average residential utility bill from $25 per month to $51.60 per month.

Larry Wittig, Tamaqua Transfer president and owner, told council Thursday night that many of the costs driving the increase are out of the company’s control.

“The landfill raises our rates every year,” Wittig said. “Last year it doubled. Who knows where fuel is going? I gave my employees a 25% increase in salaries to keep them. We will not grow beyond our ability to perform. We are on the only contractor that has been very consistent with bidding.”

Tamaqua Transfer, which is the borough’s current hauler, was one of only two companies to bid on the garbage contract and was significantly the cheaper option.

“There is an increase but if it wasn’t for their company, the residents would be looking at an even more substantial one,” Council President Greg Strubinger said.

The new contract

Jim Thorpe officials lauded Tamaqua Transfer’s service, noting their availability anytime a pickup is missed or there is another issue.

“They do a great job,” Councilman Robert Schaninger said. “There is never any spillage. This price doesn’t shock me because I know what other areas pay.”

The borough opted for the five-year contract over the three-year contract, which would have cost $2.69 million.

“If we don’t take the five-year deal, we could get sticker shock again in another three years and we don’t want that,” Strubinger said.

While Wittig wouldn’t predict exactly where things would stand in five years, he did rule out the chance that the costs to his company would go down.

“The big costs I have no control over,” Wittig said. “With regards to fuel, maybe it goes down but that is a fraction of the overall cost. Tires for our vehicles don’t go down. Repairs and maintenance don’t go down. It’s not going to go down.”